Doctor of Medicine: Rural Pathway FAQs

Students from a rural background who are committed to undertaking their medical education wholly in rural settings and becoming part of rural and regional Australia’s medical workforce.

Yes, all Doctor of Medicine graduates, Rural Pathway and otherwise, are awarded the qualification of “Doctor of Medicine” upon successful completion of the course.

There are no prerequisite subjects and no entry test (such as GAMSAT) for those entering the Doctor of Medicine’s Rural Pathway in 2022.  An entry test such as GAMSAT is required for all other applicants to the Melbourne MD (except for those entering via the Guaranteed Entry, Chancellor’s Scholar, and Indigenous student pathways).

The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) will form a key component of selection into the Rural Pathway. Invitation for MMI will be based on the applicant’s GPA. For applicants who are invited to undertake the MMI,  their GPA will contribute 30% and their MMI score will contribute 70% to their final ranking for a course offer.  Students entering the Doctor of Medicine Rural Pathway are not required to undertake GAMSAT.

The Melbourne Medical School is seeking to further diversify its cohort in the Doctor of Medicine to reflect the diversity of doctors required in society by removing any disadvantage students may have in accessing science and health subjects in their previous degrees, especially in rural areas.

The majority of graduate medical degrees at Australian universities do not require prerequisite subjects.

No, the two are totally separate pathways, with different selection criteria and as such, require separate applications. Students admitted into the Doctor of Medicine course via the rural pathway and non-rural pathway do graduate, however, with the exact same qualification.

Yes. These are totally separate pathways with different selection criteria. One is not a default application for the other.

As the basis for selection into the rural and non-rural pathways are different, it is not possible to transfer between pathways.  You would have to formally withdraw from the MD and reapply for selection via the non-rural pathway. You would need to meet the entry requirements for the non-rural pathway and would be ranked for selection amongst all other applicants.

Applicants considering withdrawing from the course having enrolled in a Bonded Medical Place are strongly advised to check the requirements of their Bonded Medical Place agreement before doing so as penalties may be applied by the Australian government.

The University of Melbourne needs to provide an ‘end-to-end’ rural training pathway to medical practice for people who wish to remain living in rural areas rather than moving to Melbourne for some or all of their university education.  La Trobe University has partnered with the University of Melbourne to provide the undergraduate portion of this Rural Pathway for 15 students each year through its dedicated courses in Bendigo and Wodonga.

Successful applicants must meet course Weighted Average Mark of 70 or above in their entire undergraduate degree at La Trobe University.

Yes, the 30 places in the MD offered through the Rural Pathway are “Bonded Medical Places”. This means you are required to work for at least 3 years in total in a recognised rural area which must be completed within 18 years after graduating from the MD. These Australian government requirements can be viewed here.

All your face-to-face teaching and learning will be delivered rurally. This includes core components and MD Discovery subjects.

Your first year will be spent in Shepparton laying a foundation for clinical learning.  You will then be able to express your preference between Shepparton or Wangaratta for your second year’s clinical placements. Third-year is spent in a longitudinal clinical placement in a general practice clinic in the northeast of the state and then the fourth year will be undertaken back in one of the rural centres.

The university does not control the allocation of internships, which are funded by the Victorian government with interns selected by the employing health services. It is expected that graduates of the Melbourne MD through its Rural Pathway will be very attractive to rural hospitals. The “Murray to the Mountains (M2M)” intern program is an example of a unique option for intern training that has proved popular with MD graduates from our Rural Clinical School.

The GAMSAT is not used for selection into the MD when applying through the Rural Pathway and so you do not need to sit it unless you are also applying to other medical programs (including the Melbourne MD at Parkville).

All domestic applicants applying to be selected for one of the 15 places in the MD through the Rural Pathway are welcome to submit a Graduate Access Melbourne (GAM) application in addition to their course application form if they are eligible under one or more of the following equity categories: Indigenous Australian, previous status as a refugee, disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances, disability or chronic medical condition and/or difficult personal circumstances. The link to the relevant GAM form will be provided when applicants submit their course application.

A minimum GPA of 5 is required. Please note that 5 is the minimum requirement only, and selection into the course is highly competitive.

Successful applicants will only be allocated to the rural clinical school zone. First-year will be spent in Shepparton laying a foundation for clinical learning. Students will then be able to express their preference between Shepparton or Wangaratta for their second year’s clinical placements. Third-year will be spent in a longitudinal clinical placement in a general practice clinic in the northeast of the state and then the fourth year will be undertaken back in one of the rural clinical school sites.

No, in order to apply via the Rural Pathway you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident who has resided for at least 5 years consecutively or 10 years cumulatively in remoteness areas classified as MM2 to MM7 (according to principal home address) and preferably have completed their undergraduate education in MM2 to MM7.

In order to meet the rurality requirements for the MD rural pathway applicants must provide evidence of having resided, according to principal home address, for at least 5 years consecutively, or 10 years cumulatively, in areas classified by the Modified Monash Model as MM2 - MM7. and preferably have completed Years 11 and 12 at a school in an area classified as MM2 - MM7.

Please refer to the Rural Background Document Guide.

Note: We do not need a cover sheet.